Campbell:Warriors take momentum into softball playoffs

Danielle Ryalls and Cassidy Brown must have wanted to make sure that the Westmont girls softball team would take a little momentum into the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs this week.

The two Warriors were hammering the softball to lead their club to a 7-1 win over Leigh last Friday to help Westmont finish the year in a third-place tie with Mt. Pleasant in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. Each club ended up 8-6 to wind up behind league champ Pioneer (13-1) and second place Leland (12-2).

The win left Westmont 15-11 for the year as they prepared to open the CCS DII playoffs as the No. 10 seed in the division, facing No. 7 Sobrato (17-7) earlier this week. A win in that game would send the Warriors up against a familiar foe--No. 2 seed Pioneer (22-4). The time of location of Saturday's quarter-final game is available at cifccs.org.

Brown smacked three hits and drove in three runs and Ryalls belted three hits and knocked in one run to lead the Warriors to the win over Leigh in the last game of the regular season.

Allie Mohn had a pair of singles and drove in a run, Chelsea Skipper blasted a double and had a RBI, Melanie Broback cracked a single and drove in one and Sydney Johnson and Kendall Story each roped a single in the win.

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Skipper was in the circle for the complete game win. She allowed one run on five hits and struck out seven.

The Warriors also crushed Live Oak 12-4 in the final week of the league season. Westmont was losing 4-2 heading into the final inning, but the Warriors rallied for 10 runs in the top of the seventh to steal the victory.

Ryalls again hammered three hits, driving in a pair of runs. Johnson smacked two hits and Brown belted two hits and had two RBIs. Mohn roped a double and drove in a pair, Story blasted a single and had two RBIs, Courtney Clevenger knocked a single and drove in two, Skipper ripped a base hit and had a RBI and Sarah Palermo added a single for the Warriors.

Skipper again had the complete game win. She allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out one.

Prospect finished the year with a 12-2 loss to Branham in five innings. The Bruins jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after the first and it was too much for the Panthers to overcome.

Keelin Spencer smacked a single and drove in a run and Sarah Schirle hammered a double. Gabbi Tsukamoto also belted a single in the loss.

Earlier in the week Prospect bested Silver Creek 13-3 in five innings, thanks to a seven-run fourth for the Panthers. Mattea Carveiro hammered a pair of doubles and a single and drove in one, while Maddie Lind smacked two doubles and a single and had two RBIs. Keelin Spencer crushed a homer and a triple and drove in three and Kyle Rienhart cracked a triple and a single and drove in two. Hayley Giffin smacked two hits, Tsukamoto belted a base knock and drove in two, Kellie Bain roped a single and drove in one and Annie Whipple knocked a hit in the win.

Molly Mills did the pitching for the Panthers. She tossed all five innings and allowed three runs on six hits and struck out one.

The Panthers finished the year 4-10 in the Santa Teresa Division and 10-16 overall.

Del Mar finished the year on a high note with a 10-game winning streak.

The Dons defeated San Jose 8-2 in the final game of the year. Melissa Lalisan smacked a triple, a double and a single and drove in one for the Dons. Vanessa DeLeon and Katie Hannum each roped a pair of hits, Allana Beach knocked a triple and drove in one and Kaitlin Dunkle hammered a base hit and had three RBIs. Alice Howard roped a single and drove in two and Milena Vukcevich and Cecilia James each ripped singles in the win.

Hannum tossed the complete game for the Dons. She allowed two runs on two hits and struck out four.

The Dons also bested Gunderson 14-1 in five innings thanks to a nine-run top of the fifth for Del Mar.

DeLeon hammered a double and two singles and drove in one, while James blasted a homer and a single and drove in three. Lalisan smacked a double and a single and drove in two, Hannum roped a pair of singles and had an RBI, Vukcevich belted a triple and drove in two, Beach cracked a double and had a pair of RBIs, Dunkle ripped a base hit and drove in two, Elyse Noda knocked a base hit and drove in one and Taijah Ortiz slapped a single in the win.

Hannum was again in the circle. She allowed only one run on five hits and struck out one.

The Dons finished the year in second place at 18-3 in the West Valley Division and 19-5 overall.